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The Great Depression Begins
On Black Tuesday, the stock market crashes. People began to take their life savings out of the bank which caused banks to close. Unemployment rates increase. -
Japan Conquers Manchuria in northen China
When Japan conquered Manchuria, Japan created a foreign controlled state called Manchukuo. The Japanese invasion of China lasted until the end of WWII. -
Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany
Won elections for promoting German racial superiority. After changing the constitution, he took control of government and called himself the leader. -
Roosevelt First Elected President
FDR was elected president because of his plans to end the Great Depression. He had many ideas such as the First and Second New Deal. These would bring work to the unemployed. -
Nuremburg Laws
The law was to persecute Jews and segregate them from "Aryan" society. Jews also lost any of their civil, legal, and political rights. -
Hitler and Mussolini form the Rome-Berlin Axis
Germany and Italy formed the Rome-Berlin Axis (Axis) in 1936. They created an alliance because the were trying to obtain more territory. -
Japan Invades China
On July 7, 1937 Japan invaded China. This invasion caused the SecondSino-Japanese war which lasted until September 2, 1945. -
Germany Invades Austria
In 1938 Germany invaded Austria. Austria was made up of mostly German-speaking people, which meant that the annexation was wanted by some of the residents. -
Kristallnacht
On November 9/10, 1938, there was an outbreak of anti-Jewish massacres in Germany. This event was started by the Nazi Party. -
Britain's Appeasement of Germany
This was an agreement between the Prime Minister of Britain (Neville Chamberlin) and Hitler. They agreed that Germany could annex Sudetenland but, Germany would have to discontinue searching for new territory. Neville Chamberlin believed that this would help to avoid war. -
Germany and Soviet Union have a Nonagression Pact
Germany and the Soviet Union agreed that they would not declare war on each other. This was because both countries were very intrested in claiming new territory. -
Germany Invades Poland
On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. Two days later, Great Britain and France declared war on Germany because of the invasion. The Germans began using a new war tactic called "Blitzkrieg" which used techniques of speed and surprise. -
Japan Joins the Axis Powers
In 1940 Japan joins the Rome-Berlin Axis. The alliance was later known as the Axis. -
Germany Invades Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France
With the "Blitzkrieg" war stradegy, German overthrew Denmark, Norway, Belgium, and France.Britain and France had little they could do to stop the advances of the Germans. When Germany invaded France, they quickly surrendered. -
German Airf Force Bombs London and other Civilian Targets in the Battle of Britain
The Luftwaffe (German air force) began bombing London with the hopes of over-running that country. However, the British Royal Air Force was able to keep off the Germans because they did not plan on giving up. London was the not the only place affected by the bombings, as was other largley Bristish populated areas. -
Lend-Lease Act
On March 11, 1941, the Lend-Lease act was approved by Congress. The Allies were now able to lend/lease resources and equipment from the United States. Through the course of the war, the Allies were lent about $50 billion dollars worth of supplies. -
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
Hitler was afraid of Joseph stalin's plans to control more countries, which made him question the agreement between them. To deal with this problem, Germany decided to invade the Soviet Union so that they could also have the wheat and oil fields located there. -
The Attack on Pearl Harbor
When Japanese warplanes bombed the American naval base Pearl Harbor, it was a huge surprise. About 2,400 people died at the base and many ships and aircrafts were destroyed. This attack made the United States declare war on Japan. -
Tuskegee Airmen
The Tuskegee Airmen were a unit of African-American airmen and crew member. They served in North Africa and Europe. Racial predjudice still exsisted, therefore there were segregated units, but they wer slowly being allowed to join other parts of the military. -
Rosie the Riveter
Because of the war, women had to pick up the extra work left behind. The Rosie the Riveter poster helped to encourage women because Rosie was strong, hard-working, and doing a man's job. In 1945, about 30% of the work force was women and many also got involved in doing military jobs. -
Japanese-American Incarceration
After the Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor, many American citizens became anti-Japanese. Due to this new dislike, a new Executive Order was passed to remove all of the Japanese and Japanese-Americans from the Pacific Coast because people felt theartened by them. Japanese-Americans were forced into prison-like camps and had to leave everything behind from their previous home. -
Bataan Death March
When Fillipino and American soldiers were had to surrender to the Japanese troops, they were forced to walk to a prison camp. Over the course of 65 miles, many died of starvation, beatings, and shootings. -
Battle of Midway
The Battle of Midway took place in the central pacific ocean. The Allies defeated the Japanese, making this a turning point in the war. -
British Forces Stop the German advance at El Alamein
After the British fought back at El Alamein, the German military retreated. The British did not want to lose access to the Suez Canal in Egypt. -
Guadalcanal
Guadalcanal was the island where the U.S. deafeted the Japanese in their first major land battle. During the war, the United States used Navajo Indians to comunicate messages back and forth to other U.S. troops. They were called CodeTalkers, and were used so that the Japanese would not be able to decode their messages. -
German Forces Surrender at Stalingrad
When the Nazis attacked Stalingrad, Russia (an industrial city), the Russians, fought back hard. The Russians were able to cut the Nazi troops off from supplies and food. Because they were no longer able to get resources, the German miliarty was forced to surrender. -
The Nazis Implement the "Final Solution"
The Final Solution was the plan to kill all of the Jewish people in Europe. They created mass-murder operations to kill all Jews and they created concentration camps for Jews to monitor the Jewish population. -
D-Day
D-Day was an unexpected day for the German troops in France. For their plan of attack, the allied forces surprise attacked the Germans guarding the German line in Normandy. The Allies fought in the air, on land, and in the seas and the allies were able to claim control of the beaches. -
Battle of the Bulge
Hitler created a final plan of attack called the Battle of the Bulge. He was able to push the Allied troops to the Ardennes Region, but once the allies to organize themselves, they fought back and were sucessful and defeated the Germans. -
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference was a meeting between Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill. They came together to dicuss what would happen postwar. Joseph Stalin agreed that he would declare on Japan, only when Germany held its white flag. -
Iwo Jima
The United States invaded the island Iwo Jima on February 19, 1945. They needed to take control of that island in order for the bombings in Japan to be successful. -
Okinawa
Okinawa was the second island the U.S. planned to take over. This island's purpose was also for the bombing plan in Japan. -
Roosevelt Dies, Truman Becomes President
Just after being re-elected for his fourth term, President Roosevelt was in very poor health, and passed away on April 12, 1945. Harry S. Truman, the vice president, took Franklin Roosevelt's place to continue with the war. -
Allied Forces Advance on Berlin, Germany Surrenders
After the Soviet Army took over Berlin, Germany officially surrenders a week later. The surrender from Germany meant an end to the war in Europe. -
Manhattan Project
The Manhattan Project was super secret plan to create atomic bombs for war. The United States told the Japanese if they did not surrender, they would use atomic bombs. -
Atomic Bomb Dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
The United States threatened that they would use atomic bombs on Japan if they did not end war, and when Japan did not surrender, the U.S. dropped an atomic bomb on the important city Hiroshima. Just 3 days later, they dropped another atomic bomb on Nagasaki. From both bombings, more than 115,000 people died. -
End of World War II
In Tokyo Bay, the Japanese and Allied leaders held a meeting on September 2, 1945. Japan had held its white flag, and signed a letter of surrender to finally bring an end to World War II.
